25-year-old gets 10 years for chopping off man’s hand

A 25-year-old man was on Wednesday jailed for 10 years by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow after he was found guilty of wounding.

Alvin Ragoobar received the sentence after a mixed jury found him not guilty on an attempted murder charge but guilty of wounding with the intent to maim, disfigure or cause grievous bodily harm. The defendant was on trial for attempting to murder Nurant Wilmont in 2007, as well as wounding him and causing grievous bodily harm.

The court heard that on the day in question, an argument erupted between the defendant’s grandfather and the victim in the defendant’s yard.

After the argument, Ragoobar took his grandfather into the house, and as Wilmont was leaving the yard, he attacked him with a cutlass. The victim received chops to his arm and shoulder, and in an attempt to escape he fell to the ground. It was further revealed that while Wilmont was on the ground, the defendant fired a chop at him which he tried to deflect from his head using his left arm. As a result of this, the arm was chopped off.

The victim was not in court during the trial as he was murdered while working the interior. His brother informed the court that he was strangled.

The jury delivered a unanimous not guilty verdict on the attempted murder charge and guilty on the wounding charge. The Judge told the defendant that she hoped he had learned from his mistake.